A jury has heard how an alleged victim of childhood sexual abuse revealed the offences to a previous boyfriend – but he did not believe her. David Roy Peters, age 62, faces trial at Plymouth Crown Court where he is accused of 12 charges which cover a period between 1979 and 1988.

Peters, of Austin Avenue, North Prospect, has denied four counts of gross indecency with a child and eight of indecently assaulting a child.

The jury was shown a video interview with the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, where she documented a number of alleged indecent assaults.

She said Peters would take opportunities to show his privates to her before warning her not to tell anyone as she would not be believed.

She said that years later she revealed the alleged abuse to a long-term boyfriend whose response she claimed was “at least it’s not happening now”.

Plymouth Crown Court (Image: File image)

When she revealed the alleged abuse to her current partner, he instantly accepted her word and supported her through the disclosure process.

She said she told her new partner before disclosing the alleged abuse to a counsellor she was seeing in relation to her slow recovery following a difficult surgical operation.

She explained during her police interview that this counsellor initially helped her, but when the sessions came to an end, she could only afford a few more sessions.